Wednesday, September 07, 2016

This is the 4th book in the Expanse series by James S. A. Corey. Not only has it spawned numerous books in the series (starting with Leviathan Wakes) but also a TV show on the SyFy channel. Since this is the fourth installment of that series, I will likely be touching on major plot points from the earlier books and the series (also known as Spoilers). So, if you have not started reading or viewing this series but think you may, turn back now and get started already! It's an excellent series in both print and video.

Those who have read this series thus far probably remember the black goo that turned people into 'vomit zombies' and took over a couple of settlements in the 'Outer Planets'? It's what led to James Holden and three of his crewmates/friends claiming by right of salvage a Martian warship. It also brought the already strained relations among Earth, Mars and the Outer Planet Alliance to its boiling point. All of which was rendered mundane when the origin of the black goo was discovered and a gate that was a shortcut to many habitable worlds was found.

Cibola Burn begins at that gait and just within. The discovery of a world suitable for humans was too much for two factions to deal with and tensions are high once again. This is actually the continuation of a story that always seems to be on the brink of resolution but never makes it. That is not meant in a negative way. In reality, life is only resolved when it is over and this story has plenty of life left in it. This part of the story is merely the next logical steps after what has happened previously.

This book does take a bit of a departure from the rest in two ways. One is in the setting. The number of different settings is reduced and the nature of one of them is very different indeed. The other difference is that more POV's from characters other than the major four occur in this book. One the more unusual characters gives us insights that were missing and we didn't likely realize it.

Cibola Burn is an action filled story that not only gets the heart pumping at times but also forces us to engage our minds and emotions. This whole series has intense violence at times, frank sexual discussions and liberal use of language so, it gets a mild R rating from me